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The GMAT CAT Format

Special GMAT CAT Consider:

Computers and Scratch Paper

The GMAT Scoring Scale

The GMAT Percentile Table

The se ofthe GMAT

SECTION ONE: CRITICAL REASONING

CHAPTER TWO: THE BASICS OF CRITICAL REASONING

GMAT Critical Reasoning 15

Complex Arguments

Truth versus Validity

CHAPTER THREE: THE QUESTION STEM AND ANSWER

CHOICES

The Question Stem

Final Chapter NOÍ€ c1 21122 xxx czxec 68

CHAPTER FOUR: MUST BE TRUE QUESTIONS

Must Be True Questions

Must Be True Question Problem

CHAPTER FIVE: WEAKEN QUESTIONS

Weaken Question Problem Set

CHAPTER SIX: CAUSE AND EFFECT REASONING

What is Causality? .a 113

Causal Reasoning Problem Set

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE I

CHAPTER SEVEN: STRENGTHEN AND ASSUMPTION

Assumption Question Problem Set

CHAPTER EIGHT: RESOLVE THE PARADOX QUESTIONS

Resolve the Paradox Questions "

Resolve the Paradox Question Problem Set

CHAPTER NINE: NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES

Numbers and Percentages

Markets and Market Share

Numbers and Percentages Problem Set

SECTION TWO: READING COMPREHENSION

‘CHAPTER TEN: THE BASICS OF READING COMPREHENSION

Reading Comprehension

The Reading Comprehension Passages

Approaching the Passages

Analyzing the Passage Using VIEWSTAM

CHAPTER ELEVEN: PASSAGE ELEMENTS AND FORMATIONS

Chapter Preview

Sources of Difficulty: The Test Makers’ Arsenal

Passage Elements That Generate Questions

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The Location Element

Reading Comprehension Question Types

Reading Comprehension Question Types Examined in Detail

Must Be True/Most Supported Questions

Must Be True Question Subtypes

Correct Answers in Must Be True Questions

Incorrect Answers in Must Be True Question:

Non-Must Be True Question Types

Strengthen Questions

Weaken Questions

Parallel Reasoning Questions

Cannot Be True Questions ,

Question Modifiers and Overlays

Question Type Variety

Prephrasing ÀAIisWers

The Answer Choices

Tricks of the Trade ,

Practicing With Time

Final Chapter Note

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

SECTION THREE: SENTENCE CORRECTION

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE BASICS OF SENTENCE

CORRECTION

Sentence Correction

Grammar Review

Sentence Correction Question Directions

The Parts of a Sentence Correction Question

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: ERRORS INVOLVING VERBS

Subject and Verb Agreement

Verb Tense

Verb Voice

„319

333 wee 344

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE l | I

The Questions 258 The Location Element + 259 Reading Comprehension Question Types 2 264

Correct Answers in Must Be True Questions 278 Incorrect Answers in Must Be True Questions 278 Non-Must Be True Question Types

Strengthen Questions

Weaken Questions

Parallel Reasoning Questions

Cannot Be True Questions

Question Modifiers and Overlays

Question Type Variety

Prephrasing Answers

The Answer Choices

Tricks of the Trade

Practicing With Time

Final Chapter NOE Hy n,2112114111111221111111111 111111 treo

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Chapter Preview Reading Approach Review

Two Passages Analyzed

SECTION THREE: SENTENCE CORRECTION _

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE BASICS OF SENTENCE

CORRECTION

Sentence Correction Grammar Review Sentence Correction Question Directions The Parts of a Sentence Correction Question Tested Curriculum

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: ERRORS INVOLVING VERBS

Subject and Verb A gT€©In€Tif che „319 Verb Tense

Verb Voice

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE I I I

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: SENTENCE CORRECTION

STRATEGIES

Look for Error Indicators

Analyze the Answer Choices

Eliminate Answer Choices

Substitite with New Words and Phrases

Rearrange the Phrase, Clause, or Sentence

Use Miscellaneous Strategies

Practice

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: TEST READINESS

The day of the teste ccc

The morning of the test

At the test center

After the test

Critical Reasoning Section Answer Key

Reading Comprehension Section Answer Key

Sentence Correction Section Answer Key

Contacting PowerScore

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

VI

About PowerScore

PowerScore is one of the world’s fastest growing test preparation companies

Headquarted in Charleston, South Carolina, PowerScore offers GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and SAT preparation courses in over 75 locations in the U.S and abroad For more information, please visit our website at www.powerscore.com

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

C?2Pnnen ONE: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Welcome to the PowerScore GMAT Verbal Bible The purpose of this book

is to provide you with a thorough review of the concepts, strategies, and techniques necessary for attacking the three types of questions on Verbal section of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) By carefully studying and correctly applying the techniques we employ, we are certain that you will increase your GMAT Verbal score

The concepts and techniques discussed herein are drawn from our live

GMAT courses, which we feel are the most effective in the world In order

to apply our methods effectively and efficiently, we strongly recommend that you carefully read and re-read each of the discussions regarding question theory We also suggest that as you finish each question you look at both the explanation for the correct answer choice and the explanations for the incorrect answer choices Closely examine each problem and determine which elements led to the correct answer, and then study the analyses provided

in the book and check them against your own work By doing so you will greatly increase your chances of recognizing the patterns present in all Verbal questions

This book also contains a variety of drilis and exercises that supplement the discussion of techniques and question analysis The drills help strengthen specific skills that are critical for GMAT excellence, and for this reason they are as important as the questions In the answer keys to these drills we will often introduce and discuss important GMAT points, so we strongly advise you to read through all explanations

Because the GMAT Verbal section contains three types of questions—Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, and Sentence Correction—this book

is divided into three sections that discuss each type Each question type is addressed in its entirety, separate from the other types

On page 455 there is a complete quick-reference answer key to all problems in this book The answer key contains a legend of question identifiers, as well as chapter-by-chapter answer keys

Because access to accurate and up-to-date information is critical, we have devoted a section of our website to GMAT Verbal Bible students This

free online resource area offers supplements to the book material, answers questions posed by students, offers study plans, and provides updates as needed There is also an official book evaluation form that we strongly

encourage you to use

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

The exclusive GMAT Verbal-Bible online area can be accessed at:

www.powerscore.com/gvbible

If we can assist you in your GMAT preparation in any way, or if you have any questions or cominents, please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail at gvbible@powerscore.com, Additional contact information is provided at the end of this book We look forward to hearing from you!

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

A Brief Overview of the GMAT IBBENNNNHNNHNNHEEBHHHHNH

The Graduate Management Admission Test is required for admission at over

1000 business schools worldwide According to the Graduate Management

Admission Council (GMAC), the makers of the test, “The GMAT is

specifically designed to measure the verbal, quantitative, and writing skills

of applicants for graduate study in business It does not, however, presuppose

any specific knowledge of business or other specific content areas, nor does it

measure achievement in any particular subject areas.” The GMAT is given in

English, and consists of the following four separately timed sections:

* Analytical Writing Assessment 2 essays, 30 minutes each; one essay

asks for an analysis of an issue, the other asks for an analysis of an

argument

° Quantitative Section 37 multiple-choice questions, 75 minutes; two

question types: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency

* Verbal Section 41 multiple-choice questions, 75 minutes; three

question types: Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and

Sentence Correction

An optional break of 5 minutes is allowed between each section, and so the

order of the test sections is always identical:

Analytical Writing Assessment

Analysis of an Issue

Analysis of an Argument 30 minutes 30 minutes 1 question

1 question Break 5 minutes

Quantitative Section

Data Sufficiency

Problem Solving 75 minutes 37 questions

Break 5 minutes Verbal Section

Critical Reasoning

Reading Comprehension

Sentence Correction

75 minutes 41 questions

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

When you take

an actual GMAT, you must present

an ID This is done in cage of

test security

probiems

Although the 5-minute breaks

are optional, you

should always take the entire break time in order to avoid fatigue.

The AWA was developed in 1994 in response to requests from business ` schools to add a writing component to the GMAT Studies had shown that strong writing and communication abilities are critical for strong business performance, and business schools wanted to have a means of assessing candidates’ communication abilities According to GMAC, “The AWA

is designed as a direct measure of your ability to think critically and to communicate your ideas More specifically, the Analysis of an Issue task tests your ability to explore the complexities of an issue or opinion and,

if appropriate, to take a position informed by your understanding of those complexities The Analysis of an Argument task tests your ability to formulate

an appropriate and constructive critique of a specific conclusion based upon a specific line of thinking.”

Each Analytical Writing Assessment essay is initially scored on a 0 to 6 scale

in half-point increments by two readers—one human reader, and one machine reader, the “e-rater” The two scores are averaged to produce a final score for each essay The final score of each essay are then averaged together to create

an overall score on a scale from 0 to 6, in half-point increments

The Quantitative Section

The Quantitative section of the GMAT is comprised of questions that cover mathematical subjects such as arithmetic, algebra, and geometry There are two question types—Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency

Problem Solving questions contain five separate answer choices, each of

which offers a different solution to the problem Approximately 22 of the 37 Quantitative section questions will be in the Problem Solving format

Data Sufficiency questions consist of a question followed by two numbered statements You must determine if the numbered statements contain sufficient information to solve the problem-—individually, together, or not at all Each Quantitative section contains approximately 15 Data Sufficiency questions, and this type of problem is unique to the GMAT and can be exceptionally challenging

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

The Verbal Section

The GMAT Verbal section is a test of your ability to read for content, analyze

argumentation, and to recognize and correct written errors Accordingly, there

are three types of problems—-Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning,

and Sentence Correction The remaining chapters of this book address each

section in detail, starting with Critical Reasoning

Critical Reasoning questions present a short argument followed by a question

such as: “Which of the following weakens the argument?” “Which of the

following parallels the argument?” or “Which of the following must be true

according to the argument?” The key to these questions is understanding

the reasoning types and question types that frequently appear Within the

Verbal Section you will encounter approximately 10 to 14 Critical Reasoning

questions

Reading Comprehension questions examine your ability to analyze large

amounts of material for content and understanding Passages range up to 350

words in length, and each passage is accompanied by 3 to 8 questions Passage

topics are drawn from a variety of areas, including business, science, politics,

law, and history :

Each Sentence Correction problem presents a sentence containing an

underlined section Five answer choices follow the problem, and each suggests

a possible phrasing of the underlined section The first answer choice is a

repeat of the underlined section, and the remaining four answers are different

than the original Your task is to analyze the underlined section and determine

which of the answers offers the best phrasing

Experimental Questions ia

About 1/4 of the : : : : questions on

During the GMAT you will encounter questions that will not contribute to the GMAT are your score These questions, known as “experimental” questions, are used experimental,

on future version of the GMAT Unfortunately, you will not be informed with the

during the test as to which questions do not count, so you must give your best questions roughly

Quantitative and Verbal sections,

The GMAT CAT Format |Site

As opposed to the traditional paper-and-pencil format used by many other tests, the GMAT is administered on a computer Consequently, only one

question at a time is presented, the order of questions is not predetermined, and the test actually responds to your answers and shapes the exam in order

to most efficiently arrive at your proper score This format is known as a

Computer Adaptive Test, or CAT

For example, the first question in the Verbal or Quantitative section will be a medium difficulty question If answered correctly, the computer will supply

a somewhat harder question on the assumption that your score is somewhere above that level If this next question is answered correctly, the following question will again be more difficult This process continues until a question

is missed, At that point, the test will supply a somewhat easier question as

it tries to determine if you have reached your score “ceiling.” By increasing

or decreasing the difficulty of the questions based on prior response, the test attempts to quickly pinpoint your appropriate score level and then confirm that level Consequently, the first several questions are used to broadly establish your general scoring range:

A strong beginning followed by a weak finish will produce a higher score than

a weak beginning followed by a strong finish For this reason it is essential that your performance early in the section be as strong as possible, even if this requires using more than the average time allotted per question

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

Special GMAT CAT Considerations

The CAT format has certain features that appreciably alter the testing

experience:

* The CAT format does not allow you to “skip” a question; that is, you cannot leave a question blank nor can you come back to a question In order to move forward in the test you must answer the question on the screen If you do not know the answer, you must make an educated guess And since the test adapts to your previous responses, once you complete a question, you cannot return to that question

* You cannot write on the computer screen, but scratch paper is available and should be used (more on this in a moment)

* Facility with a computer is clearly an advantage; fast typing is also

an advantage in the Analytical Writing Sections where your response must be typed into the computer

* The test penalizes examinees who do not finish all the questions in the section Thus, since the number of questions answered is incorporated into the calculation of scores, it is essential that you complete

every question in each section There is a strong penalty for leaving questions unanswered, and so it is better to miss a question than to leave it unanswered

* The results of your test (excluding the Writing scores) are available at the conclusion of the exam

Question Difficulty Matters

Complicating the GMAT CAT scoring system is that question difficulty affects your overall score Each question is assigned a predetermined “weight,” and more difficult question have a greater weight Consequently, it is important that you answer difficult questions and not just “skip” any question that

appears difficult Answering fifteen easy questions will produce a lower score than answering fifteen difficult questions

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

General Pacing

Since completing every question in a section is critical, pacing is equally

important Based purely on the number of questions and the total time per

section, the following lists the the average amount of time you can spend per

question:

Quantitative Section: 37 questions, 75 minutes

Average time per question: 2 minutes, ] second Verbal Section: 41 questions, 75 minutes

Average time per question: J minute, 49 seconds Score-Specific Pacing

The following references provide alternate pacing strategies depending on

desired score

Basic Quantitative Strategy for various scoring ranges:

700-800: Complete every question, average of just under 2 minutes per

question

600-690: Attempt to complete every question, average of 2 minutes, 15

seconds per question, keep enough time to guess on uncompleted

questions

500-590: Attempt to complete at least 75% of questions, average of 2

minutes, 35 seconds per question, keep enough time to guess on

uncompleted questions

Basic Verbal Strategy for various scoring ranges:

700-800: Complete every question, average of 1 minute, 45 seconds per

question

600-690: Attempt to complete every question, average of 2 minutes per

question, keep enough time to guess on uncompleted questions

500-590: Attempt to complete at least 75% of questions, average of 2

minutes, 20 seconds per question, keep enough time to guess on

uncompleted questions

However, since the questions at the start of each section are more critical than

later questions, a greater amount of time than the average can be allotted to the

early questions, and then the pace can be accelerated as the sections proceeds

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

Timing Your Practice Sessions

One of the most important tools for test success is a timer When working

with paper tests or the Official GMAT Review, your timer should be a constant

companion during your GMAT preparation

Although not all of your practice needs to be timed, you should attempt to do

as many questions as possible under timed conditions Time pressure is the top

concern cited by test takers, and practicing with a timer will help acquaint you

with the challenges of the test After all, if the GMAT were a take-home test,

no one would be too worried about it

When practicing with a timer, keep notes about how many questions you

complete in a given amount of time You should vary your approach so that Silent countdown practice does not become boring For example, you could track how long it be purchave J takes to complete 3, 5, or 8 questions Or you could see how many questions through our

you can complete in 6 or 10 minutes Trying different approaches will help website at www, you get the best sense of how fast you can go while still maintaining a high powerscore.com degree of accuracy

A timer is invaluable because it is both an odometer and speedometer for your

practice With sufficient practice you will begin to establish a comfortable

Verbal section speed, and the timer allows you to make sure you are

maintaining this pace Whether you use a watch, stopwatch, or kitchen timer is

irrelevant; just make sure you time yourself rigorously

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 9

10

Taking a standardized test on a computer is an unusual experience The natural tendency to mark up the page is thwarted since you cannot write on the

computer screen Consequently, using noteboards, laminated pages provided

in place of scratch paper by the test administrator, is an important aid to smooth test performance A special marker and a spiral-bound booklet of five noteboards will be supplied by the test administrator, and more noteboards can

be requested during the exam

During the pre-test tutorial, use part of one noteboard to quickly draw out the following chart:

As you progress though each question, you can use the chart to keep track

of eliminated answer choices as is necessary For example, if you are certain answer choices (A) and (C) are incorrect in problem #2, simply “X” them out

on the chart:

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

we EO

The GMAT Scoring Scale iia

Every GMAT score report contains four sections:

° A Quantitative Score—on a scale of 0 to 60

* A Verbal Score—on a scale of 0 to 60

° A Total Score—on a scale of 200 to 800

¢ An Analytical Writing Assessment Score—on a scale of 0 to 6

The Quantitative and Verbal scores are section scores, and these two section

scores are combined to create the Total Score The Total Score is the one most

familiar to GMAT test takers and is given on the famous 200 to 800 scale,

with 200 being the lowest score and 800 the highest score

Each Analytical Writing Assessment essay is initially scored on a 0 to 6 scale

by two readers—one human reader and one machine reader, the “E-rater.”

The two scores are averaged to produce a final score for each essay The final

scores of each essay are then averaged together to create an overall score

Approximately 90% of all test takers receive a score of 3 or higher Your AWA

score has no effect on your Total Score

The GMAT Percentile Table ee

It is important not to lose sight of what the GMAT Total Score actually

represents The 200 to 800 test scale contains 61 different possible scores

Each score places a student in a certain relative position compared to other

test takers These relative positions are represented through a percentile that

correlates to each score The percentile indicates where the test taker ranks in

the overall pool of test takers For example, a score of 680 represents the 90th

percentile, meaning a student with a score of 680 scored better than 90 percent

of the people who have taken the test in the last two years The percentile

is critical since it is a true indicator of your positioning relative to other test

takers, and thus business school applicants

Charting out the entire percentage table yields a rough “bell curve.” The

number of test takers in the 200s and 700s is very low (only 7% of all

test takers receive a score in the 700s; only 2% in the 200s), and most test

takers are bunched in the middle, comprising the “top” of the bell In fact,

approximately 30% of all test takers score between 450 and 550 inclusive, and

about 60% of all test takers score between 400 and 600 inclusive

The median score on the GMAT scale is 540 The median, or middle, score is

the score at which approximately 50% of test takers have a lower score and

50% of test takers have a higher score

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

It Is important

to remember that you do not have to anower every question correctly in order

to receive an excellent GMAT score There is room for error, and accordingly you should never let any single question occupy ani inordinate arnount of your

time

11

12

The Use of the GMAT a: aaa

The use of the GMAT in business school admissions is not without controversy Experts agree that your GMAT score is one of the most important determinants of the type of school you can attend At many business

schools an “admissions index” consisting of your GMAT score and your undergraduate grade point average is used to help determine the relative standing of applicants, and at some schools a sufficiently high admissions index virtually guarantees your admission

For all the importance of the GMAT, the exam is not without flaws As a standardized test currently given in the computer adaptive format there are a number of skills that the GMAT cannot measure, including listening skills, note-taking ability, perseverance, etc GMAC is aware of these limitations and on a regular basis they warn all business school admission offices about using the GMAT scotes as the sole admission criterion Still, because the test ultimately returns a number for each student, the tendency to rank applicants

is strong Fortunately, once you get to business school the GMAT is forgotten For the time being consider the test a temporary hurdle you must leap in order

to reach the ultimate goal

For more information on the GMAT, or to register for the test, contact the Graduate Management Admission Council at (800) 717-GMAT or at their website at www.mba.com

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

SECTION ONE:

CRITICAL

REASONING

=e)

ein

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

HAPTER TWO: THE BASICS OF

CRITICAL REASONING

GMAT Critical Reasoning ay

The focus of this section is on Critical Reasoning, and each Verbal section

contains a total of 10 to 14 Critical Reasoning questions When the total time

allotted is weighed against the total number of questions in the Verbal section,

you have an average of approximately one minute and forty-five seconds to

complete each question Of course, the amount of time you spend on each

question will vary with the difficulty of each question For virtually all students

the time constraint is a major obstacle, and as we progress through this book we

will discuss time-saving techniques that you can employ within the section

Critical Reasoning Question Directions

The directions for Critical Reasoning problems are short and seemingly simple:

“For this question type, select the best of the given answer choices.”

Because these directions always precede first Critical Reasoning question ina

Verbal section, you should familiarize yourself with them now Once the

GMAT begins, never waste time reading the question directions in any section

Let’s examine the directions more closely Consider the following phrase:

“select the best of the answer choices given.” By stating up front that answers

have comparative value and some are better than others, the makers of the test

compel you to read every single answer choice before making a selection If

you read only one or two answer choices and then decide you have the correct

one, you could end up choosing an answer that has some merit but is not as

good as a later answer, One of the test makers’ favorite tricks is to place a highly

attractive wrong answer choice immediately before the correct answer choice in

the hopes that you will pick the wrong answer choice and then move to the next

question without reading any of the other answers

What is notable about the directions is what is not stated No mention is made of

whether to accept all statements as true, nor is any comment made about what

you should assume about each question A bit later in this chapter we will

address the truth of the statements in each passage, but let’s take a moment to

talk about the assumptions that underlie each problem In general, standardized

tests such as the GMAT operate on “commonsense” grounds; that is, you

should only assume things that would be considered common sense or widely

known to the general public The implication is that you can make some

assumptions when working with questions, but not other assumptions Of

course, the GMAC does not hand out a list of what constitutes a reasonable

CHAPTER TWO: THE BASICS OF CRITICAL REASONING

On average, you 1) have | minute and

45 seconds to

complete each

question

Always read each

of the five anewer choices before deciding which

anower is correct

15

real, what actors

do, and that TV

purposes only For

those of you who

wish to try the

problem now, the

of common knowledge Within a Critical Reasoning question, the test makers can and do discuss complex or extreme ideas; in these cases, they will give you context for the situation by providing additional information However, be careful about assuming something to be true (unless you believe it is a widely accepted fact or the test makers indicate you should believe it to be true) This last idea is one we will discuss in much more detail as we look at individual question types

The Parts of a Critical Reasoning Question Every Critical Reasoning question contains three separate parts: the stimulus, the question stem, and the five answer choices The following diagram identifies each part:

1 Most serious students are happy students, and most serious students go to med ichool Furthermore, Stimulus

all students who go to graduate school are overworked

Which one of the following can be properly inferred :

(A) Most overworked students are happy students

(B) Some happy students are overworked

(C) Alloverworked students are serious students

(D) Some unhappy students go to graduate school

(E) All serious students are overworked

Answer Choices

Asa technical note, on the GMAT CAT an empty answer bubble appears next

to each answer, and there is no letter in the bubble However, for identification purposes and the convenience of discussion, throughout this book we will present problems with the answer choices lettered (A) through (E)

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

Approaching the Questions

When examining the three parts, students sometimes wonder about the best

strategy for attacking a question: should I read the question stem first? Should I

preview the five answer choices? The correct answer is Read the parts in the

order given That is, first read the stimulus, then read the question stem, and

finally read each of the five answer choices Although this may seem like a

reasonable, even obvious, approach we mention it here because some GMAT

texts advocate reading the question stem before reading the stimulus We are

certain that these texts are seriously mistaken, and here are a few reasons why:

1 Understanding the stimulus is the key to answering any question, and reading

the question stem first tends to undermine the ability of students to fully

comprehend the information in the stimulus On easy questions this

distraction tends not to have a significant negative impact, but on more

difficult questions the student often is forced to read the stimulus twice in

order to get full comprehension, thus wasting valuable time Literally, by

reading the question stem first, students are forced to juggle two things at

once: the question stem and the information in the stimulus That is a

difficult task when under time pressure The bottom line is that any viable

strategy must be effective for questions at all difficulty levels, but when you

read the question stem first you cannot perform optimally True, the

approach works with the easy questions, but those questions could have

been answered correctly regardless of the approach used

2 Reading the question stem first often wastes valuable time since the typical

student will read the stem, then read the stimulus, and then read the stem

again Unfortunately, there simply is not enough time to read every question

stem twice

3 Some question stems refer to information given in the stimulus, or add new

conditions to the stimulus information Thus, reading the stem first is of

litle value and often confuses or distracts the student when he or she goes

to read the stimulus

4 On stimuli with two questions, reading one stem biases the reader to look

for that specific information, possibly causing problems while doing the

second question, and reading both stems before reading the stimulus wastes

entirely too much time and leads to confusion

5 For truly knowledgeable test takers there are situations that arise where the

question stem is fairly predictable One example—and there are others—is

with a question type called Resolve the Paradox Usually, when you read the

stimulus that accompanies these questions, an obvious paradox or

discrepancy is presented, Reading the question stem beforehand does not add

anything to what you would have known just from reading the stimulus In

later chapters we will discuss this situation and others where you can predict

the question stem with some success

CHAPTER TWO: THE BASICS OF CRITICAL REASONING

The correct answer to the problem on the previous page is

17

@ Ũ

of doing the question) the “harder” question types such as Parallel Reasoning

or Method of Reasoning However, test data show that questions of any type can be hard or easy Some Parallel Reasoning questions are phenomenally easy whereas some Parallel Reasoning questions are extremely difficult In short, the question stem is a poor indicator of difficulty because question difficulty is more directly related to the complexity of the stimulus and the corresponding answer choices

Understandably, reading the question stem before the stimulus sounds like a good idea at first, but for the majority of students (especially those trying to score in the 600s and above), the approach is a hindrance, not a help Solid test performance depends on your ability to quickly comprehend complex

argumentation; do not make your task harder by reading the question stem first `

Analyzing the Stimulus

As you read the stimulus, initially focus on making a quick analysis of the topic under discussion What area has the author chosen to write about? You will be more familiar with some topics than with others, but do not assume that everything you know “outside” of the stimulus regarding the topic is true and applies to the stimulus For example, say you work in a real estate office and you come across a GMAT question about property sales You can use your work experience and knowledge of real estate to help you better understand what the author is discussing, but do not assume that things will operate in the stimulus exactly as they do at your workplace Perhaps property transactions in your state are different from those in other states, or perhaps protocols followed

in your office differ from those elsewhere In a GMAT question, look carefully

at what the author says about the topic at hand; statements presented as facts on the GMAT can and do vary from what occurs in the “real world.” This

discrepancy between the “GMAT world” and the “real world” is one you must always be aware of: although the two worlds overlap, things in the GMAT world are often very different from what you expect From our earlier discussion of commonsense assumptions we know that you can assume that basic, widely-held facts will hold true in the GMAT world, but by the same token, you cannot assume that specialized information that you have learned in the real world will hold true on the GMAT We will discuss “outside

information” in more detail when we discuss GMAT question types

Next, make sure to read the entire stimulus very carefully The makers of the GMAT have extraordinarily high expectations about the level of detail you should retain when you read a stimulus Many questions will test your knowledge of small, seemingly nitpicky variations in phrasing, and reading carelessly is GMAT suicide In many respects, the requirement forced upon you

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

to read carefully is what makes the time constraint so difficult to handle Every

test taker is placed at the nexus of two competing elements: the need for speed

(caused by the timed element) and the need for patience (caused by the detailed

reading requirement) How well you manage these two elements strongly

determines how well you perform In the previous chapter we discussed how to

practice using time elements, so make sure to use those ideas as you work

through practice questions both in this book and in your other test materials

Finally, analyze the structure of the stimulus: what pieces are present and how

do those pieces relate to each other? In short, you are tasked with knowing as

much as possible about the statements made by the author, and in order to do so,

you must understand how the test makers create GMAT arguments We will

discuss argumentation in more detail ina moment

Stimulus Topics

The spectrum of topics covered by Critical Reasoning stimuli is quite broad

Previous stimuli topics have ranged from art to business to medicine and

science According to the makers of the test, “Questions are based on materials

from a variety of sources No familiarity with the specific subject matter is

needed.”

Despite the previous statement, many GMAT students come from a humanities

background and these test takers often worry about stimuli containing

scientific or medical topics Remember, the topic of a stimulus does not affect

the underlying logical relationship of the argument parts And, the GMAT will

not assume that you know anything about advanced technical or scientific

ideas For example, while the GMAT may discuss mathematicians or the

existence of a difficult problem in math, you will not be asked to make

calculations nor will you be assumed to understand esoteric terminology Any

element beyond the domain of general public knowledge will be explained for

you, as in the following example:

Scientist: Isaac Newton’s Principia, the seventeenth-century work that served as the

cornerstone of physics for over two centuries, could at first be understood by only a handful of people, but a basic understanding of Newton’s ideas eventually spread throughout the world This shows that the barriers to communication between scientists

The stimulus above, although reproduced only in part, is a good example of

how the test makers will supply information they feel is essential to

understanding the question In this case, the reader is not expected to understand

either the content or historical importance of Principia, and so the test makers

conveniently furnish that information Thus, although on occasion you will see

a stimulus that references an ominous looking word or idea (examples include

high-density lipoprotein and pironoma, you will not need to know or be

assumed to know anything more about those elements than what you are told

by the test makers

CHAPTER TWO: THE BASICS OF CRITICAL REASONING

GMAT argumentation is one of the main topics of this section, and will

be discussed in

every chapter

Some specific topics do recur, and we will note those in future chapters

19

Once you are able to see these relationships, the topic will become less important

Arguments versus Fact Sets GMAT stimuli fall into two distinct categories: those containing an argument and those that are just a set of facts Logically speaking, an argument can be defined as a set of statements wherein one statement is claimed to follow from

or be derived from the others Consider the following short example of an argument:

All professors are ethical Mason is a professor So Mason is ethical

The first two statements in this argument give the reasons (or “premises”) for accepting the third statement, which is the conclusion of the argument

Fact sets, on the other hand, are a collection of statements without a conclusion, as in the following example:

“The Jacksonville area has just over one million residents The Cincinnati area has almost two million residents The New York area has almost twenty million residents.”

The three sentences above do not constitute an argument because no conclusion is present and an argument, by definition, requires a conclusion

The three sentences merely make a series of assertions without making a judgment Notice that reading these sentences does not cause much of a

reaction in most readers Really, who cares about the city sizes? This lack of a

strong reaction is often an indication that you are not reading an argument and are instead reading just a set of facts

When reading Critical Reasoning stimuli, you should seek to make several key determinations, which we call the Critical Reasoning Primary Objectives™

Your first task is to determine if you are reading an argument or a fact set

Primary Objective #1: Determine whether the stimulus contains an argument or if it is only a set of factual statements

To achieve this objective, you must recognize whether a conclusion is present Let us talk about how to do this next

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

identifying Premises and Conclusions

For GMAT purposes, a premise can be defined as:

“A fact, proposition, or statement from which a conclusion is made.”

Premises support and explain the conclusion Literally, the premises give the

reasons why the conclusion should be accepted To identify premises, ask

yourself, “What reasons has the author used to persuade me? Why should I

believe this argument? What evidence exists?”

A conclusion can be defined as:

“A statement or judgment that follows from one or more reasons.”

Conclusions, as summary statements, are supposed to be drawn from and rest

on the premises To identify conclusions, ask yourself, “What is the author

driving at? What does the author want me to believe? What point follows from

the others?”

Because language is the test maker’s weapon of choice, you must learn to

recognize the words that indicate when a premise or conclusion is present In

expressing arguments, authors often use the following words or phrases to

introduce premises and conclusions:

Premise Indicators Conclusion Indicators

because thus

since therefore

for hence

for example consequently

for the reason that as a result

in that so

given that accordingly

as indicated by clearly

due to moust be that

owing to shows that

this can be seen from conclude that

we know this by follows that

for this reason Because there are so many variations in the English language, these lists

cannot be comprehensive, but they do capture many of the premise and

conclusion indicators used by GMAT authors As for frequency of appearance,

the top two words in each list are used more than any of the other words in the

list

When you are reading, always be aware of the presence of the words listed

CHAPTER TWO: THE BASICS OF CRITICAL REASONING

A premise gives a reason why @) something should

be believed Pi

A conclusion is the point the author tries to prove by using another statement

Make gure to memorize these word lists

Recognizing

argument

elements is criticall

Arguments can

contain more

than one premise and more than one conclusion

21

above These words are like road signs; they tell you what is coming next

Consider the following example:

Humans cannot live on Venus because the surface temperature is too high

As you read the first portion of the sentence, “Humans cannot live on Venus,” you cannot be sure if you are reading a premise or conclusion But, as soon as you see the word “because”—a premise indicator—you know that a premise will follow, and at that point you know that the first portion of the sentence is a conclusion In the argument above, the author wants you to believe that humans cannot live on Venus, and the reason is that the surface temperature is too high

In our daily lives, we make and hear many arguments However, unlike on the GMAT, the majority of these arguments occur in the form of conversations (and when we say “argument,” we do not mean a fight!) Any GMAT argument can

be seen as an artificial conversation, even the basic example above:

Author: “Humans cannot live on Venus.”

Respondent: “Really? Why is that?”

Author: “The surface temperature of Venus is too high.”

If at first you struggle to identify the pieces of an argument, you can always resort to thinking about the argument as an artificial conversation and that may assist you in locating the conclusion

Here are more examples of premise and conclusion indicators in use:

1 “The economy is in tatters Therefore, we must end this war.”

“Therefore” introduces a conclusion; the first sentence is a

This argument contains two premises: the first premise is the first sentence and the second premise follows the word “since” in the second sentence; the conclusion is “congress will pass a stricter

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

fraud control bill”

Notice that premises and conclusions can be presented in any order—the

conclusion remains the same regardless of the order of presentation For presentation has

a ` : no effect on the

example, ifthe order of the premise(s) and conclusion was switched in any of logical structure

the examples above, the logical structure of the argument would not change of the argument

The conclusion le)

Also notable is that the premises and the conclusion can appear in the same can appear at Ũ sentence, or be separated out into multiple sentences Whether the ideas are we weaning, the

argument

Ifa conclusion is present, you must identify the conclusion prior to proceeding

on to the question stem Often, the reason|students miss questions|is because

they have failed to fully and accurately identify the conclusion of the

argument

$ ˆ : Remember, a fact

Primary Objective #2: If the stimulus contains an argument, set does not

identify the conclusion-of-the-argument If the stimulus contain a

conclusion; an

contain a

One Confusing Form conclusion,

Because the job of the test makers is to determine how well you can interpret

information, they will sometimes arrange premise and conclusion indicators in

a way that is designed to be confusing One of their most confusing forms

places a conclusion indicator and premise indicator back-to-back, separated by a

comma, as in the following examples:

“Therefore, since ” Te form ie

“Thus, because ” “conclusion!

form.”

A quick glance would seemingly indicate that what will follow is both a

premise and a conclusion In this instance, however, the presence of the

comma creates a clause that, due to the premise indicator, contains a premise

The end of that premise clause will be closed with a second comma, and then

what follows will be the conclusion, as in the following:

“Therefore, since higher debt has forced consumers to lower their

savings banks now have less money to loan?

“Higher debt has forced consumers to lower their savings” is the premise;

“banks now have less money to loan” is the conclusion So, in this instance

“therefore” still introduces a conclusion, but the appearance of the conclusion

is interrupted by a clause that contains a premise

24

Premise and Conclusion Recognition Mini-Drill Each of the following problems contains a short argument For each argument, identify the conclusion and the premise(s) Answers on the next page

1 “Given that the price of steel is rising, ke will no longer be able to

offer discounts on our car parts|”

2 The political situation in Somalia is unstable owing to the ability of

individual warlords to maintain powerful armed forces.”

3 “Since we need to have many different interests to sustain us,the { scientists' belief must be incorrect}?

4 “So, as indicated by the newly released data,lwe should push forward

with our efforts to recolonize the forest with snowy tree crickets} ,

5 Television has a harmful effect on society JT his can be seen from the

poor school performance of children who watch significant amounts of television and from the fact that children who watch more than six hours of television a day tend to read less than non-television watching children.”

6 “The rapid diminishment of the ecosystem of the Amazon threatens the

entire planet Consequently,we must take immediate steps to convince the Brazilian government that planned development projects need to be curtailed for the simple reason that these development projects will greatly accelerate the loss of currently protected land.”

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

Premise and Conclusion Recognition Mini-Drill Answer Key

1, Features the premise indicator “given that.”

Premise: “Given that the price of steel is rising,”

Conclusion: “we will no longer be able to offer discounts on our car

parts.”

2, Features the premise indicator “owing to.”

Premise: “owing to the ability of individual warlords to maintain

powerful armed forces.”

Conclusion: “The political situation in Somalia is unstable” HD

3 Features the premise indicator “since.”

Premise: “Since we need to have many different interests to sustain

”

us, Conclusion: “the scientists’ belief must be incorrect.”

4 Features the conclusion/premise form indicator “So, as indicated by.”

Premise: “as indicated by the newly released data”

Conclusion: “we should push forward with our efforts to recolonize the

forest with snowy tree crickets.”

5 Features the premise indicator “this can be seen from.” The second sentence

contains two premises

Premise 1: “This can be seen from the poor school performance of

children who watch significant amounts of television”

Premise 2: “and from the fact that children who watch more than six

hours of television a day tend to read less than non-television watching children.”

Conclusion: “Television has a harmful effect on society.” Note how this

sentence does not contain a conclusion indicator, Yet, we can

determine that this is the conclusion because the other sentence contains two premises

6 Features the conclusion indicator “consequently” and the premise indicator

“for the simple reason that.” There are also two premises present

Premise 1: “The rapid diminishment of the ecosystem of the Amazon

threatens the entire planet.”

Premise 2: “for the simple reason that these development projects will

greatly accelerate the loss of currently protected land.”

Conclusion: “we must take immediate steps to convince the Brazilian

government that planned development projects need to be curtailed”

argument forms, sometimes the author will make an argument and then for good measure add another premise that supports the conclusion but is sometimes non-essential to the conclusion These are known as additional

premises:

Additional Premise Indicators

Furthermore

Moreover Besides

In addition What’s more

Following are two examples of additional premise indicators in use:

1 “Every professor at Fillmore University teaches exactly one class per semester\ Fillmore’ § Professor Jackson, therefore, is teaching exactly one class this semester, Moreover, I heard Professor Jackson say she was teaching only a single class.”

The first sentence is a premise The second sentence contains the conclusion indicator “therefore” and is the conclusion of the argument The first sentence is the main proof offered by the author for the conclusion The third sentence begins with the additional Rau indicator “moreover.” The premise in this

used to help prove the conclusion separately (this would occur

if an objection was raised to the first premise)

2 The city council ought to ease restrictions on outdoor advertising) because the city’s economy is currently in a.slump Furthermore, the city should not place restrictions on forms of speech such as

advertising.”

The first sentence contains both the conclusion of the argument and the main premise of the argument (introduced by the premise indicator “because”) The last sentence contains the additional premise indicator “furthermore.” As with the previous example, the additional premise in this sentence is non-essential to the argument but provides additional proof for the conclusion

THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

Counter-Premise Indicators

When creating an argument, an author will sometimes bring up a counter-

premise—~a premise that actually contains an idea that is counter to the

argument At first glance, this might seem like an odd thing for an author to

do But by raising the counter-premise and then addressing the complaint in a

direct fashion, the-author.can minimize the damage that would be done by the

objection if it were raised elsewhere —

Counter-premises can also be ideas that compare and contrast with the

argument, or work against a previously raised point In this sense, the general

counter-premise concept discusses an idea that is in some way different from

another part of the argument

Following is an example of a counter-premise indicator in use:

1 “The United States prison population lis the world’s largest and

(consequently we must take steps to reduce crime in this country

Although other countries have higher rates of incarceration, their

statistics have no bearing on the dilemma we currently face.”

The first sentence contains a premise and the conclusion (which

is introduced by the conclusion indicator “‘consequently”) The third sentence offers up a counter-premise as indicated by the word “although.”

CHAPTER TWO: THE BASICS OF CRITICAL REASONING

Counter- premises, also called

adversatives, bring up points of

of ways, Aga sawy GMAT taker, it is up to you to identify the exact role that the phrase

is playing in the

argument,

27

Additional Premise and Counter-Premise Recognition Mini-Drill Each of the following problems contains a short argument For each argument, identify the conclusion, the premise(s), and any additional premises or counter- premises Answers on the next page

1, Wine is made by crushing grapes and eventually separating the juice

from the grape skins [However, the separated juice contains impurities and many wineries do not filter the juice] These wineries claim the unfiltered juice ultimately produces a niore flavorful and intense wine

Since these wine makers are experts,lwe should trust their judgment and

not shy away from unfiltered wine.)

2 Phenylketonurics are people who cannot metabolize the amino acid

phenylalanine There are dangers associated with phenylketonuria, and products containing phenylalanine must carry a warning label that states, “Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine ”(Ïn addition, all _ _children in developed societies receive a phenylketonuria test at birth) (Hence, at the moment, We are doing as much as possible to protect against this condition |

3 During last night’s robbery, the thief was unable to open the safe, Thus,

last night’s robbery was unsuccessfulldespite the fact that the thief stole several documentsl[A fier all, nothing in those documents was as valuable as the money in the safe

28 THE POWERSCORE GMAT VERBAL BIBLE

Additional Premise and Counter-Premise Recognition Mini-Drill

Answer Key

1 Features the counter-premise indicator “however” and the premise indicator mm

since

Premise: “Wine is made by crushing grapes and eventually separating

the juice from the grape skins.”

Counter-premise: “However, the separated juice contains impurities and

many wineries do not filter the juice.”

Premise: “These wineries claim the unfiltered juice ultimately produces

amore flavorful and intense wine.”

Premise: “Since these wine makers are experts,”

Conclusion: “we should trust their judgment and not shy away from

unfiltered wine.”

2 Features the additional premise indicator “in addition” and the conclusion

indicator “hence.” In this problem the additional premise is central to

supporting the conclusion

Premise: ““Phenylketonurics are people who cannot metabolize the

amino acid phenylalanine.”

Premise: “There are dangers associated with phenylketonuria, and

products containing phenylalanine must carry a warning label that states, ‘Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine.’ ” Additional Premise: “In addition, all children in developed societies

received a phenylketonuria test at birth.”

Conclusion: “Hence, at the moment, we are doing as much as possible

to protect against this condition.”

3, Features the counter-premise indicator “despite”; the additional premise

indicator “after all”; and the conclusion indicator “thus.” The additional

premise serves to downplay the counter-premise

Premise: “During last night’s robbery, the thief was unable to open the

safe.”

Counter-premise: “despite the fact that the thief stole several

documents.”

Additional Premise: “After all, nothing in those documents was as

valuable as the money in the safe.”

Conclusion: “Thus, last night’s robbery was unsuccessful ”